A Decade of Pain
by Immortal Fallen Angel
Summary: Alone on that fateful day, America decides to suffer in silence. England has other plans for his old colony and decides to pay him a visit. Angsty one shot.


**A Decade of Pain**

**A/N**: Ohaithar 8D I should REAAALLLY be posting for Kyoukatsu but…MEH :P This got finished first so… yeah x.x Just a quick oneshot anyways. I got bored in the library at school, ended up watching Hetalia vids and BAM. Idea. X.x can be taken as AmericaxEngland slash or brotherly love xD which ever you prefer. Was beta'd by the lovely Daisuke Kazamatsuri 8D so there are no fails… probably. And I'm posting this a day earlier than I would like to, simply because I'm home today and I KNOW the internet here won't give out randomly. X.x stupid college dorm and it's shitty internet… *grumbles* Anyways enjoy! ^^

**Disclaimer: I own noooothing.**

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><p>"Where is that bloody git? He's usually a little late, but never <em>this<em> late!" Arthur cried in annoyance, standing and slamming his hands down on the table. Everyone was all assembled for a Nation meeting in… where were they again? Oh well, didn't matter. All that mattered was that Alfred wasn't _freaking here yet_. That ungrateful, disrespectful little—

"I am sure there is a reason he is AWOL Iggy…" France said, grinning behind a glass of red wine, taking a sip and relishing in England's clearly frustrated state.

"Shut up you damn frog!" England said, turning his anger towards the Frenchman. "That brat knows the meeting was to start promptly at nine A.M. sharp and it is currently nine-thirty! There is no excuse for him being this late!"

"Maybe he is dead in a ditch, da?" Russia said cheerfully, that creepy smile plastered on his face.

"Don't say such nonsense, you loon!" England said, his glare now turned on the still smiling Russian. "America may be a complete and utter fool, but that doesn't mean he'd die so easily! Furthermore-" Arthur cut himself off, however, when a whimper sounded throughout the room. England and France blinked while Russia's smile twitched a bit. "…What in the bloody hell was that?" England asked, looking around the room.

The noise came again and all heads turned to Russia, who merely tilted his head to the side. "Is something the matter, comrades?" he asked innocently.

"Was that you who made such a noise, monsieur?" Francis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Was what me?" Ivan asked, his smile twitching once more. Another whimper sounded and it was most definitely coming from near Russia.

"Stand up, you lummox." Arthur said, narrowing his eyes at Russia and nodding his head, gesturing for the Russian to stand. Reluctantly, Ivan stood, the smile not leaving his face. Sitting in the chair Russia had just been occupying was Canada, who looked a little pale and winded. "Ivan you idiot!" Arthur scolded. "You sat on Alfred! We could have started this meeting long ago if it wasn't for you!"

"Not Amerika." Was all Ivan said, standing behind the chair and patted Canada on the head none to gently, causing the meek nation to wince.

"Well if this isn't that git then who is he?" Arthur said, pointing rudely at Mattie.

"I'm Canada…" The blond said quietly, trying, and failing, to get Ivan's hand off his head. "I'm America's brother…"

"Is something the matter, Canada?" Francis asked, frowning a bit as he looked at his old colony. "You look rather ill…" the quiet spoken nation opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by England.

"If you are that imbeciles brother then you must know where he is!" England said, getting back to the matter at hand. "Get that idiot here right now so we can get this meeting under way!"

"I… I can't do that…" Mathew stuttered out, whimpering when Ivan added more pressure on his head.

"And why the bloody hell not?" England all but shouted, his patience warring thin.

"It's the anniversary."

The whole room went silent at Mattie's soft-spoken words, Russian's hand leaving Mattie's head.

"The… anniversary…?" Arthur said, not completely understanding. "What friggen-" England's mouth snapped shut as realization dawned on him.

Oh. _That_ anniversary.

England stood there like a statue for a few moments, not sure how to react. He'd totally forgotten that this day had been fast approaching. How had it slipped his mind like that?

"…How is he?" Francis dared to ask Canada, who merely shook his head.

"He wouldn't answer when I called him…" Mathew said sadly, putting a hand over his heart. "…But I know he's hurting. I can feel it."

Another silence over took the room, everyone letting the words sink in. England, however, seemed to have been hit the hardest by the news, his face having paled slightly and his eyes locked on a spot on the table.

So… Alfred was not only hurting today… but was also alone? This didn't sit well with the Englishman, not at all. A distressed Alfred was bad enough. But a distressed and _alone_ Alfred?

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Arthur slammed his hand down onto the table, causing half the room's occupants to jump at the noise. Muttering a meager "Excuse me," England made a beeline for the door, slamming it shut as he left. Another eerie silence fell over the nations, everyone wondering exactly what just happened.

"Finally," Ivan said, breaking the silence, smiling once more. "I thought he would never leave. Now we can finally begin this meeting, da?" he said, taking a seat, a small squeak sounding as he did so. There was a murmur of agreement as the meeting finally began, figuring that America and England would not be back anytime soon.

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><p>England stood in front of his old colony's house, suddenly regretting his decision on coming. Despite it being mid afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, the house seemed… dark almost. America was probably perfectly fine. Arthur was just overreacting. Alfred could handle himself. He <em>was<em> America, after all.

And it was because of that reason that England walked up to the door and knocked on the wood, his resolve returning.

A frown appeared on his lips when a few minutes passed and his knocking was only met with silence. There was a car in the driveway, so Arthur was sure America was home. He knocked again, his frown deepening when he was once again ignored.

Arthur raised his hand and grabbed the golden doorknob, his massive eyebrows furrowing in worry when he realized that the door was unlocked. He took a step into the house, looking around curiously. He quietly closed the door behind him and began to walk further into the house, hoping to find the other blond.

As soon as he reached the hallway, England raised an eyebrow, seeing black shoes, a black jacket as well as a black tie sprawled out on the floor. He stepped over the clothing, making a mental note to pick that stuff up later.

"Alfred…?" he called out quietly, the worry clear in his voice. "Are you here?" as he expected, he was met with silence, the only noise in the house being the floor boards that creaked under his weight.

Arthur soon reached the living room, peering inside. He first noticed the cell phone resting on the floor by the door, more than likely off, and Texas resting next to the device. His eyes then traveled towards the couch, his eyes widening at the sight he was met with. "….You stupid git…" Arthur said through a sigh, making his way over towards Alfred, who was lying in front of the couch.

Alfred was curled up into a ball, his body shaking gently as he lied there. The white shirt from the suit he'd been wearing was wrinkled from his position, his black pants not fairing much better. Frowning, Arthur made his way over to America, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the couch. He looked down at the egotistical blond, noticing that his face was scrunched up, as if in pain. The other nation turned his gaze a little lower, his frowned deepening when he noticed that Alfred was clutching the material of his shirt just over his heart. "…Oh Alfred…" England said soothingly, shifting America gently as he put the other blonde's head in his lap.

Staring down at Alfred's face, England began to run his fingers through America's hair, hoping it'd sooth the distraught nation. Much to his relief, Alfred's body relaxed a little under his touch, the slight shake in his shoulders beginning to slow. Arthur smiled a bit and continued the motion, not moving at all, in fear of waking up his old colony.

Arthur's gaze traveled to the window, his fingers still soothing the younger nation. How could the sky be so clear on a day like today? Especially in America? Seems Mother Nature has a sense of humor. England scowled at that thought.

They stayed like that for a while, Arthur enjoying the calm silence as he stared out the window, lost in thought, Arthur was amazed it had already been ten years since the event happened. It was amazing how quickly time could pass. England was even more impressed by how well America was able to act after such a painful event. At first glance it seemed as though Alfred was unaffected by it. But England knew better. He knew how much it had hurt America, how wounded he had been. I mean, one doesn't get a gaping hole in their chest and treat it as _nothing_—

"Who knew you could shut up for so long?"

The voice caused Arthur to stop his motions and looked down at the head in his lap, his eyes wide. By now America was no longer trembling, and his grip on his shirt had lessened. The younger nation's eyes were still closed, which caused Arthur to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"I thought you were sleeping," he said softly, his eyes not leaving America's face.

"I wasn't able to sleep." Alfred said, just as softly, his voice timid and meek sounding. "I just… I couldn't… Not with how much pain I was in…"

Arthur frowned at that. It was a common thing for a nation to feel the pain of their people if they were emotional enough. And America's were no doubt very emotional today.

"…Why are you here?" Alfred asked, once again dragging Arthur out of his musings. America opened his eyes, revealing his baby blue eyes, which were rimmed red. "Wasn't there a meeting today?"

"If I wanted to hear countries argue for hours on end I'd say that we should all live under the same roof and be one big bloody family." He said, shaking his head back and forth. A smile twitched at the corner of Alfred's lips at that as he closed his eyes again.

"Ivan would be happy about that," he mused.

"Indeed. But Ivan is also a psychopath." Alfred let out a weak chuckle at that, causing England to smile a bit.

A comfortable silence wrapped around the pair as they lay there, Alfred's expression much more at ease then when Arthur arrived, much to his relief.

America had been so quiet and looked so peaceful that England was positive that Alfred had finally fallen asleep. So he was surprised when the loud blond gently took his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Really… Arthur. Thanks for coming… You have no idea how much it means to me…" Alfred said softly. A bright blush appeared on England's cheeks, causing him to look out the window once more.

"Bloody wanker," England said, causing Alfred to crack open an eye in confusion. "Why wouldn't I come on a day like today? Who the hell do you think I am?"

Alfred chuckled again and closed his eyes, bringing Arthur's hand to his lips, gently kissing the knuckles. Arthur smiled at the small sweet gesture, the blush still on his cheeks.

"Stupid git…" Arthur said fondly, squeezing Alfred's hand. "You may annoy the bloody hell out of me, but I'll always be here when you need me… always."

Alfred smiled at that, squeezing Arthur's hand back. He felt sleep being to claim him and he let it, his heart not hurting nearly as much anymore.

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><p><strong>AN**: So… yeah. See why I wanted to post it tomorrow? xD; This came from my first assignment in one of my classes at college x.x write a one page story using a picture as your plot or something. Prof didn't tell us till after he gave us the pics that they were 9/11 ones x.x So with that in my head, along with spamming Hetalia vids… this happened XD;; I'm rather proud of it. ^^ I didn't realize till I was done writing it, that I never directly say what day it is. I though I kinda ninjaed it…. Then Dai-chan's boy friend read it and got it like one page it -.- damn him.

Oh well I hope you enjoyed 8D Like it? Hate it? Want to sick Ivan on it with a metal pipe? Let me know in a review~? Please? D:

Thanks for reading ;D

~Angel~


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